


Licht und Magie

by OceanEmber



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, but like from a 3rd person perspective, caleb's backstory, everyone else is mentioned but none of them are actually important to the story, the archeart uses they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26599720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanEmber/pseuds/OceanEmber
Summary: Bren Aldric Ermendrud is a young boy when he casts his first spell.They notice.Or: Caleb Widogast's life told from the perspective of The Archeart
Relationships: Caleb Widogast & The Archeart
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	Licht und Magie

**Author's Note:**

> Been thinking about The Archeart and Caleb a lot recently, so much that it inspired me to write my first fic in over 8 years. Hopefully you enjoy!

Bren Aldric Ermendrud is a young boy when he casts his first spell.

They notice.

They watch as the young boy's eyes shine with wonder and amazement as a small globule of light floats in the air above the boy's hands. He is so proud of himself, he is so excited. His first real spell that he taught himself! His first small step to the mastery of the arcane. His joy is palpable, and they can't help but smile upon him. 

They notice when Bren goes to school. They watch as the young boy, though not as young as the last time they saw him, leaves his home with another boy and girl and heads off to Rexxentrum to learn at the Soltryce Academy. Bren is nervous. That much is obvious. But more than that, he is excited. He has managed to teach himself a few other spells since his first Dancing Lights (they can't help but notice that he gravitates towards fire, perhaps even instinctually), but the prospect of studying in the premiere magic academy of the Dwendalian Empire has Bren radiating excitement. 

They notice when Bren begins private lessons. He has come a long way since his first Dancing Lights and has learned much in his short time at the Academy. Bren lights up with every new spell and spends hours reading in the vast library, learning as much as he could. He loves every second at the Academy, and when he is selected for private lessons, that excitement grows. His hard work is paying off! Bren's friends are chosen for private lessons along with him. Astrid and Eodwulf show great talent, but there is something about Bren that catches their attention. They aren't quite sure what it is. The boy's skill with the arcane is impressive. Unnaturally so. They wonder if his new tutor sees it too. 

They notice when things begin to turn south. Bren's eyes aren't as bright as they used to be. They shine, but it's artificial now. Trained. The excitement they saw when the boy cast his first spell is still there, but it is faint now, overtaken by necessity. It's tragic, almost. There are cuts in his arms and tears on his pillows. His teacher did this to him. They're not sure they should intervene. They're not sure they could. 

They notice when Bren breaks. They watch the boy scream as flames surround his home, as he reduces his family to ash. They watch the small cottage in Blumenthal burn, and watch as Bren burns with it. Astrid and Eodwulf stand behind him, unbroken. They don't know what to do.

They notice when the boy who was once Bren Aldric Ermendrud is thrown in the Sanatorium for his madness. The boy is a shell. There is no light behind his eyes.

They notice when 11 years pass.

They probably should not interfere. But they feel, they know, Bren is destined for more. The boy has never spoken to them, has never reached out with prayer, but they took notice nonetheless. There was something about that young boy in Blumenthal, something about the unadulterated joy he felt when he cast those Dancing Lights all those years ago. Something about his talent with the arcane. Something about him and his fire. There is something important there. Something worth saving. So they send help.

They notice when the fog clears from the boy's mind (no longer Bren, but not quite anyone new yet). He kills a guard, steals a protective amulet, and runs south. He is grappling with so much: his stay in the Sanatorium, the murder of his parents, the cuts in his arms, the eleven years that have gone by. They suppose he is no longer a boy. Not-Bren grapples with that too.

They notice when not-Bren casts Find Familiar. It's his first spell after his escape. They greatly approve of the choice. He summons a fluffy Bengal cat, not unlike the one he had as a boy in Blumenthal, and gives it the same name. Though faint, there is once again light behind his eyes. A rush of joy with the magic. They smile upon him and his new fey companion, as the cold harshness of winter fades into spring. 

They notice when not-Bren meets Nott the Brave, a little goblin girl. She expects him to be afraid of her, to resent her, but he doesn't. Despite everything that he may tell himself, his heart is kind. He introduces himself as Caleb Widogast, but it will be a while before the name feels right. They watch the two of them formulate a plan (with a little help from Frumpkin), break out of prison, and begin their companionship. They notice as Caleb saves the meager earnings he has to buy books. There is much more determination and hardness, but the pure excitement of learning magic has found its way back to Caleb. 

They notice when Caleb and Nott meet a half-orc, a human, two tieflings, and an aasimar in a tavern in Trostenwold. The group is an odd assortment, but they work together well. It will be a long time before Caleb will trust these people. It will take even longer for him to consider them friends and even longer to consider them family. 

They notice as the group travels together. As they all learn to lean on each other more. As they start to make a name for themselves. As they lose one of their own and gain another cleric. As Caleb (and it is Caleb now. The name feels right to him) spills his secrets, first to Beauregard and Nott, and to everyone else gradually. They notice as Caleb learns more and more magic. It's not the bright shine they saw when he cast his first spell or during his early years at the Academy. But it's not the hardness and necessity they saw when Caleb was off with his private tutor. There is determination, but there is excitement again. He has a goal, but there is love and adoration and admiration for the arcane, and his eyes shine brightly once more. 

They notice. And they know that Caleb will be okay.


End file.
